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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Prior to the discovery of the Indian bhut jolokia, or "ghost chili," scotch bonnet chilis and habaneros were considered the hottest peppers on this planet. Why the hell would we want to eat anything that hot?

Well, people in the Caribbean and Latin America both enjoy the innate tropical flavor of these chilis' meat, in addition to actually enjoying the intense spice. When paired with the bittersweet, clovey flavor of allspice and the lemony tang of fresh thyme, something magical happens: Jamaicans call it "jerk."

Believed to have come from the word "charqui," which turned into the word "jerky" in English, jerk is a fiery hot, flavorful marinade most often applied to pork and chicken. In addition to the standard trinity of chilis, allspice, and thyme, different jerk cooks might add garlic, onion, cloves, cinnamon, or other fun spices. We at Sizzle Grove came up with our own fairly authentic recipe. We like to use it on chicken drumsticks, since they're both traditional and inexpensive.

*Note: for best results, find whole allspice "berries" (which look and feel like peppercorns) and grind them up at home.

PROCESS:
1. Cut up habaneros, garlic, and onion into small pieces for a blender or food processor.
2. Blend up these ingredients with salt, pepper, cumin, the leaves of a few thyme sprigs, and allspice.
3. Add olive oil, and blend again to form a paste. Add small dashes of water until mixture becomes liquidy and spreadable over chicken.
4. Spread marinade over meat, weaving sprigs of thyme all over the meat as well. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. Sprinkling on extra allspice berries won't hurt.
5. Cook meat close to coals and wood (for a grilling effect, rather than slow barbecuing). If possible, add allspice berries to the coals for a flavorful smoke. Allspice leaves may be used too, but since they are hard to find, we use the spent thyme sprigs.
6. Once food is done, squeeze some extra lime juice over it and drizzle lightly with agave nectar, or light honey. There's not usually much of a sweet component in jerk, but trust us, it works nice.

Serve with items such as mango slices, rice, raita (an Indian yogurt salad), fried plantains, or even just some quality crusty bread with spreadable butter to cool off the heat. Beer-wise, we'd pair jerk barbecue with a hoppy-sweet double IPA.

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COOK YOUR MEATSES

Always remember to cook your meats thoroughly to avoid the risk of foodborne illnesses. Certain types of meat may be consumed raw or as ceviche, but we at Sizzle Grove are not going to post such recipes so that none of you get sick and sue us. Besides, we do barbecue and stuff.

And as long as we're on this legal mumbo jumbo, our recipes are ours. We hope you try them, but don't try to pull them off as your own. They are 100% original, and dated, so if you steal them and publish them as your own, we'll find out and have you tarred and feathered in the town square. Or something else.

All photos on this page, including those taken from public domain sources, may be minimally edited to enhance color and contrast.

SIZZLE GROVE CONTACT

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Submissions are not monetarily compensated or guaranteed to show up on Sizzle Grove. Potential posts submitted by readers must be of a culinary nature, particularly relating to barbecue or craft beer, and should be submitted for the sake of fun.